Self-chilling container with safety device and method of making same

ABSTRACT

The present invention is related to a self-chilling container having a passage through which presurized refrigerant exits into the atmosphere. The container has a shield-like safety device over said passage and a means for insuring the positioning of the shield, when the container is open, so as to remain over the passage and deflect downwardly any unevaporated refrigerant. These structures are effective to prevent unevaporated refrigerant from contacting a user operating the container. The invention is also related to a method for fabricating the container which is not only economical in manufacture but further insures the proper positioning of the shield relative to the refrigerant passage.

Beck

SELF-CHILLING CONTAINER WITH SAFETY DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAMEInventor: William D. Beck, 851 S. High St.,

Columbus, Ohio 43206 [22] Filed: Apr. 6, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 348,486

[52] U.S. Cl....; 62/294, 62/371, 62/457 [51] Int. Cl. F25d 3/10 [58]Field of Search 62/294, 457, 371

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,229,478 1/1966 Alonso62/371 3,309,890 3/1967 Barnett 62/294 3,320,767 5/1967 Whalen 62/2943,494,142 2/1970 Beck 1 62/294 3,525,236 8/1970 Solhkbah 62/2943,726,106 4/1973 Jaeger 62/294 Dec. 10, 1974 Primary ExaminerWi11iam J.Wye Attorney, Agent, or FirmCushman, Darby & Cushman [5 7] ABSTRACTrefrigerant from contacting a user operating the container. Theinvention is also relatedto a method for fabricating the container whichis not only economical in manufacture but further insures the properpositioning of the shield relative to the refrigerant passage.

11 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENIEDHEa 10 \974 SELF-CHILLING CONTAINERWITH SAFETY DEVICE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe invention is directed towards a refrigerant unit that is disposedwithin a container having a beverage. The refrigerant unit is of theself-chilling type wherein the exposure of a refrigerant to theatmosphere will cause it to evaporate and thereby result in the chillingof the beverage. Although the material hereinafter described as beingchilled is a beverage, it is to be understood that other materials canbe chilled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART There are numerous prior art coolingdevices wherein a refrigerant device is centrally disposed within acontainer storing a beverage that is to be cooled. Such devices userefrigerant of the type which is under pressure. When exposed to theatmosphere, the refrigerant is evaporated and released thereto. If,however, the refrigerant is expelled from the container before it hasevaporated, there is a risk of injury to the consumer, e.g.,-if some ofthe liquid strikes an eye. In addition, such devices are quiteexpensive, in part because of the number of manufacturing stepsrequired. Typical of this prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,767 toWhalen, wherein a self-chilling disposable container is disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the instant invention toprovide a safety device for self-chilling containers and a method forproducing the same, wherein the aforementioned disadvantages prevalentin the prior art are overcome. This object is accomplished in part bymeans of a shield device selectively removable from a refrigerantrelease passage and a control means therefor. The control means formspart of a typical tear-tab used on beverage containers; it isoperatively connected with the shield device for insuring the properpositioning of the shield device over said passage as it is removedtherefrom by a consumer lifting the tear-tab to dispense the contents ofthe container. By this arrangement, the cooperation of the shield deviceand the control means is effective to deflect and/or temporarily trapany unevaporated refrigerant, whereby the possibility of harm arisingfrom pressurized unevaporated refrigerant contacting a consumer isgreatly reduced. The said object of the invention is also accomplishedin part by an improved method whereby the component parts are joinedtogether in a simple operation. The method includes the steps ofsecuring a stem-seal mounted on a filled refrigerant canister to ashield device which is operatively connected to the tear-tab on a lidfor the container. By this arrangement, the shield device isappropriately secured and positioned relative to said passage so that,as the shield device is moved with the tear-tab to remove the contentsfrom the container, the shield device will remain in such a position asto deflect and/or temporarily trap unevaporated refrigerant.

Other objects, advantages, novel features of the invention, will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment of the invention, when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT Now referring to the FIGURES of the drawings, there isdisclosed a self-chilling container 10 made in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention wherein a refrigerant unit 12 iscentrally disposed and concentrically arranged within a container means14. The container is of a conventional type and is definedby an annularWall member 16 having a bottom member 18 located at one end and a top orlid member 20 located at the opposite end thereof. Any of a number ofmethods, such as crimping, are effective to secure the lid to thecontainer. Container 14 is effective to hold the beverage that is to bechilled. It is to be understood that this material can be of any typethat is desired to be cooled; preferably, it should be free-flowing.

As better seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the refrigerant unit 12 is comprised ofa storage canister 24, having a raised neck portion 26, a head portion28 and an aperture 30 located at the top of the head portion. Thecanister defines a chamber 32 wherein liquid refrigerant, such as Freon,is introduced and maintained under pressure, by means hereinafter to bedescribed, for subsequent dispensing to the atmosphere through theaperture 30.

A washer member 34 is preferably made from plastic material, such aspolyurethane. The washer has an aperture 36 extending therethrough sothat when the washer is inserted within the head portion 28, theaperture 36 is in line with respect to the aperture 30. A compoundtypesealant not shown is applied to the outer surface of the head portion 28that is to come into contact with the lid 20. This sealant compound issubsequently compressed, by means hereinafter described, so as tofurther provide an effective seal that will prevent contamination of thematerial 22.

Located below the washer 34 is a porous disc 40 that acts as a diffusermember for the liquid refrigerant. Inasmuch as it is the evaporation ofthe liquid refrigerant that provides the cooling, it is necessary toinsure that the evaporation will take place within the canister so as tomaximize the cooling effect. The diffuser disc is effective to preventas much as possible the escape of unevaporated liquid refrigerant fromthe canister 24, so that a larger portion of the liquid is evaporatedtherein. The porous disc can be manufactured from any of a variety ofmaterials as long as the materials are effective to diffuse liquidpassing therethrough.

The self-chilling container is provided with another sealing means whichis effective to prevent any intermingling between the pressurizedrefrigerant and the material 22, thereby preventing contamination of thelatter. As best viewed in FIG. 3, a flat annular surface 42 is definedon the neck portion 26. This flat annular surface provides an annularseat for the reception thereon of a generally annular sealing collar 44.The sealing collar is preferably made of a plastic material and is sodimensioned as to be preferably snugly fitted over the head portion 28.As seen in the FIGS. 2 and 3 the sealing collar 44 is sandwiched betweenthe annular surface 42 and the bottom of the lid 20. In this manner itcooperates with the sealant compound 38 and prevents any unevaporatedliquid refrigerant from entering the container 14.

A flexible generally longitudinally extending stemseal 46, preferablymade of a plastic material, is inserted within the apertures 30 and 36so that the topmost portion thereof extends above the head portion 28.The stem-seal is effective to prevent the refrigerant from escaping fromthe canister until the canister is opened.

The head portion 28 and the stem-seal 46 are both inserted within arecess 48. The recess is integrally and centrally formed on the lidmember 20 and also has a central passageway or aperture 50 extendingtherethrough. The stem-seal is so positioned that it extends throughthis aperture 50.

Fastened on the lid member 20 is a typical off-center tear-tab 52 thatis conventionally riveted or otherwise suitably fastened as shown at 54.Score lines 56 are also integrally formed about the riveted region onthe lid member and define a frangible closure means 58 which, upon beingopened, will provide an egress for the material stored in the container14. The off-center tear-tab includes a conventional pull-ring 60 havinga generally circular opening 62. A groove 64 extends along the peripheryof this circular opening 62 and receives the improved shield device 66made in accordance with the principles of this invention.

The shield device 66 can take any of a number of forms, however, in thisparticular embodiment itis shown as a generally convex member in theform of an inverted cup-shaped plug or dome-shaped member. The device 66is comprised of a generally flat lateral edge or flange 68 and agenerally inner concave surface 70. The generally flat flange 68 issnugly fitted within the groove 64 of the pull ring 60. The innerconcave surface 70 is especially effective to deflect downwardly and/ortemporarily trap any exiting unevaporated refrigerant. The inner concavesurface 70 is also designed to contact the uppermost portion of thelongitudinally extending stem-seal 46. Thereafter, the two are heatwelded or adhesively bonded together when the head portion 28 isinserted within the recess 48 of the lid. In

this manner the stem-seal becomes integral with the shield device 66 andthe tear-tab opening means 52 (see FIG. 4).

A control means for controlling the relative ease with which thetear-tab 52 is pulled upwardly and to insure the proper positioning ofthe shield device 66 over the apertures 30 and 36, is defined by agroove or recess 72. Preferably the groove or recess takes the form of asubstantially V-shaped channel that extends transversely to thelongitudinal extent of the tear-tab. One side 74 of the recess 72 islarger in dimension than the opposite side 76. Both sides of this recessare effective to provide a means which limits the otherwise generallyvertically upward movement of the tear-tab so as to insure the properpositioning of the shield device 66 in an inclined position above theaperture 52, thereby having the shield device downwardly deflect and/ortemporarily trap any unevaporated liquid refrigerant.

Additionally, the recess 72 is effective to divide the generally upwardmovement of the tear-tab 52 into an easy segment and a difficultsegment. By the term easy, it is meant that the consumer applies less ofa force in lifting the tear-tab 52 upwardly than during the difficultsegment thereof. The segmented generally upward movements of thetear-tab are effective to promote an efficient cooling of the material22 by permitting the refrigerant to be exposed to the atmosphere first,thereby promoting the chilling before the material is able to bedispensed through the closure means 58.

The self-chilling arrangement 10 made in accordance with the principlesof this invention is manufactured in the following manner. After thewasher 34 and the porous disc 40 are inserted, as hereinabove described,within the head portion 28, a pressurized liquid refrigerant isintroduced through the apertures 30 and 36 respectively, so as to fillthe chamber 30. The longitudinally extending stem-seal 46 is theninserted into said apertures so as to maintain the pressurizedrefrigerant within the canister. Thus, an independent refrigerant unitis produced that can be efficiently and effectively shipped from themanufacturer of the refrigerant to a manufacturer of the container. Theresult of this separate manufacture of the refrigerant units from thecontainer units is a more efficient division of labor and cost.

The annular collar 44 is snugly fitted upon the raised neck portion 26so as to be seated upon the annular surface 42. The remainder of thehead portion is coated by the sealant compound 38. Thereafter, the headportion and the extending stem-seal are inserted within the recess 48 sothat the stem-seal extends through the aperture 30 within said recess48. Conventional means such as rolling or crimping are then applied soas to effectively press the recess 48 about the head portion, andthereby sealing secure the two together. As aforenoted, the tear-tab 52and the shield device 66 attached therewith are riveted to the lid 20 bythe rivet 54. As is more clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the tear-tab andshield are located so as to be in a generally horizontal position. Inthis horizontal position, as the refrigerant unit is inserted within therecess 48 on the lid 20, the top end of the stem-seal 46 abuts the innerconcave surface 70 at the center thereof. The stem-seal is permanentlyaffixed to the shield device by any of several conventional techniques,such as by heat welding or adhesive bonding. As is apparent, as theshield device is lifted upwardly with the tear-tab 52, the stem-seal isremoved from the apertures 30 and 36 so as to expose the refrigerant tothe atmosphere.

From the foregoing detailed description of the pre ferred embodiment itwill be understood that the apparatus of the invention operates in thefollowing manner. In order to effectuate the chilling process of thematerial 22, the pull-ing 60 is grasped by the fingers of a consumer andis lifted generally vertically upwardly. By lifting the pull-ringgenerally vertically upwardly, the stem-seal 46 is removed from therefrigerant unit 12 so as to expose the pressurized refrigerant to theatmosphere. As this occurs the refrigerant is permitted to evaporate tothe atmosphere by exiting through the apertures 30 and 36, therebycooling the material 22, within the container. If for any reason thediffuser disc 40 is not able to cause all of the refrigerant toevaporate within the canister chamber 32, the inner concave surface 70and the lateral edge 68 attached therewith deflect downwardly and/ortemporarily trap exiting liquid refrigerant. Thus, a consumer isprotected from any deleterious harm arising from contact with theunevaporated refrigerant.

As hereinabove mentioned, the recess 72 is effective to maintain theshield device in this relatively inclined position so as to deflectdownwardly the unevaporated refrigerant. A further consequenceof thisdownward deflection is that a portion of the liquid refrigerant willfall upon the top surface of the lid and as the refrigerant evaporates,the container is further chilled.

Through the process of heat welding or adhesive bonding, the stem-seal46 is integrally attached to the central portion of the inner concavesurface 70. By fixing the stem-seal to the shield device 66, thestem-seal is removable from the apertures 30 and 36 upon thesimultaneous upward lifting of the tear-tab 52. As noted, this firstpermits the refrigerant to evaporate so as to chill the material withinthe container prior to the teartab removing the frangible closure means58. Also by attaching the stem-seal to the central portion of the innerconcave surface 70, it locates the shield device over the exitingapertures 30 and 36 so that any unevaporated refrigerant is trappedtemporarily and/or deflected downwardly by said inner concave surface soas to preclude contact with the consumer operating the self-chillingarrangement 10. Also by forming a recess 72 on the tear-tab that extendstransversely to the longitudinal extent thereof, a control means isformed which insures the proper inclined position of the shield device66 over the exiting apertures, while also segmenting the upwardmovements of the tear-tab. The two segments defined are effective topromote a uniform chilling of the material within the container.

As hereinbefore described, the recess 72 is located on the tear-tab soas to control the path as well as the rate and sequence at which thepull-ring is lifted upwardly. Until the sides 74 and 76 of the recess 72abut each other the upward movement of the pull-ring 60 is effectedrather easily, thereby permitting the evaporation of the refrigerantwithin the chamber 30, so as to commence the cooling of the material 22within the container. After said sides of the recess 72 contact witheach other, it is more difficult for the consumer to lift the pull-ring60 upwardly so as to open of the frangible closure means 58 to permitdispensing of the chilled material. Thus, the recess 72 is effective tocontrol the rate and sequence of upward movement of the pull-ring sothat during the first or aforenoted easy segment of the movement (i.e.,until the sides 74 and 76 abut each other), this movement is effectedrelatively quickly. During the subsequent second or difficult segment ofthe upward movement (i.e. after the sides 74 and 76 abut each other) theupward movement of the pull-ring so as to open the frangible closuremeans 58 is performed at a slower rate than during the easy segment.During the first segment of the upward movement of the pull-ring therefrigerant is permitted to evaporate, thereby chilling the contents ofthe container before the frangible closure means is opened. Thisprevents the dispensing of material 22 which may not be properlychilled. Therefore, the recess 72 not only insures the properpositioning of the shield device 66 over the openings 30 and 36 so as todeflect and/or temporarily trap the unevaporated refrigerant, but alsoit insures the uniform cooling of the material prior to dispensing fromthe container, by effecting the cooling before opening the frangibleclosure means 58.

Also as is apparent from the aforenoted description, the method wherebythe lid 20 and the canister 24 are firmly secured together not onlyprovides an economical means of assembly, but also centrally locatesvthestem-seal 46 relative to the inner concave surface of the shield device66. As noted, the use of a stem-seal provides a means whereby themanufacturer of the refrigerant unit 12 can effectively and economicallytransport the same to the manufacturer of the container.

Although the herein shown and described invention is conceived to be themost practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized thatdepartures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention whichis to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any andall equivalent structures and methods for manufacturing.

What is claimed as novel and unobvious and desired to be protected byLetters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A self-chilling container arrangement for effectively chillingmaterial in the container prior to the material being dispensed and forsafely preventing exiting unevaporated refrigerant from deleteriouslyeffecting a user of the arrangement comprising:

container means for housing the material that is to be chilled;

closure means connected to the container means for generally verticalmovement so as to expose the material to the atmosphere for subsequentdispensing therethrough; m

storage means disposed within a portion of the container means forstoring refrigerant;

refrigerant means under pressure within the storage means for chillingthe material housed in the container upon exposure to the atmosphere;

communication means defining a refrigerant passageway through both thecontainer means and the storage means for permitting the refrigerantmeans to evaporate and exit therethrough to the atmosphere;

a shield means selectivelymovable in a generally vertical path between afirst position whereat the shield means seals the communication means soas to prevent evaporation of the refrigerant means and a second positionwhereat during movement of the shield means between said first andsecond position, the shield means is in a generally inclined positionrelative to the communication means so as to permit the refrigerantmeans to evaporate into the atmosphere and thereby chill the materialwhile also deflecting downwardly any unevaporated refrigerant exitingfrom the communication means so as to prevent any deleterious effects toa user of the arrangement;

lift means connected to both the shield means and the closure means foreffecting the generally vertical movement of the shield means and theclosure means;

control means cooperating with the lift means for insuring the properpositioning of the shield means over the communication means duringmovement between said first and second positions and for insuring thatsaid second position of the shield means is reached prior to thegenerally vertical upward movement of the closure means so as to exposethe material to the atmosphere, thereby providing a more efficientchilling of the material by permitting the refrigerant means toevaporate prior to the exposure of the material to the atmosphere forsubsequent dispensing.

2. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein the shield meansincludes an inverted cup-shaped member having an inner surface meansthat is operative to cover the communication means so as to downwardlydeflect any evaporated refrigerant means, and a vertically elongatedseal means centrally connected with the inner surface means so as tomove in unison therewith and being effective to seal the communicationmeans when the shield means is in said first position, and permit thepressurized refrigerant means to evaporate during movement of the shieldmeans to said second position.

3. The arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein the shield means ismade of plastic or other material.

4. The arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein the control meanscooperating with the lift means is a groove located adjacent one end ofthe lift means and generally transverse to the longitudinal extentthereof for effecting the generally vertical movement of the shieldmeans.

5. The arrangement as defined in claim 4 wherein the 8 lift means is atear-tab having an aperture therein.

6. The arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein the inverted cup-shapedmember is connected within the aperture of the tear-tab so as to havethe inner surface means cover the communication means in said firstposition.

7. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein the communication meansis defined by a pair of co-axial and co-extensive apertures, each ofwhich are respectively formed within the container means and the storagemeans.

8. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein a diffuser means isdisposed within the storage means and adjacent the communication meansso as to prevent unevaporated refrigerant means existing from thecommunication means.

9. The arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein an annular memberdefines the aperture in the storage means and cooperates with theelongated seal means to effectuate a sealing action.

10. The arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein projection means onthestorage means and receiving means on the container means cooperatewith each other to join the storage and container means together.

of the refrigerant means with the material.

1. A self-chilling container arrangement for effectively chilling material in the container prior to the material being dispensed and for safely preventing exiting unevaporated refrigerant from deleteriously effecting a user of the arrangement comprising: container means for housing the material that is to be chilled; closure means connected to the container means for generally vertical mOvement so as to expose the material to the atmosphere for subsequent dispensing therethrough; storage means disposed within a portion of the container means for storing refrigerant; refrigerant means under pressure within the storage means for chilling the material housed in the container upon exposure to the atmosphere; communication means defining a refrigerant passageway through both the container means and the storage means for permitting the refrigerant means to evaporate and exit therethrough to the atmosphere; a shield means selectively movable in a generally vertical path between a first position whereat the shield means seals the communication means so as to prevent evaporation of the refrigerant means and a second position whereat during movement of the shield means between said first and second position, the shield means is in a generally inclined position relative to the communication means so as to permit the refrigerant means to evaporate into the atmosphere and thereby chill the material while also deflecting downwardly any unevaporated refrigerant exiting from the communication means so as to prevent any deleterious effects to a user of the arrangement; lift means connected to both the shield means and the closure means for effecting the generally vertical movement of the shield means and the closure means; control means cooperating with the lift means for insuring the proper positioning of the shield means over the communication means during movement between said first and second positions and for insuring that said second position of the shield means is reached prior to the generally vertical upward movement of the closure means so as to expose the material to the atmosphere, thereby providing a more efficient chilling of the material by permitting the refrigerant means to evaporate prior to the exposure of the material to the atmosphere for subsequent dispensing.
 2. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein the shield means includes an inverted cup-shaped member having an inner surface means that is operative to cover the communication means so as to downwardly deflect any evaporated refrigerant means, and a vertically elongated seal means centrally connected with the inner surface means so as to move in unison therewith and being effective to seal the communication means when the shield means is in said first position, and permit the pressurized refrigerant means to evaporate during movement of the shield means to said second position.
 3. The arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein the shield means is made of plastic or other material.
 4. The arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein the control means cooperating with the lift means is a groove located adjacent one end of the lift means and generally transverse to the longitudinal extent thereof for effecting the generally vertical movement of the shield means.
 5. The arrangement as defined in claim 4 wherein the lift means is a tear-tab having an aperture therein.
 6. The arrangement as defined in claim 5 wherein the inverted cup-shaped member is connected within the aperture of the tear-tab so as to have the inner surface means cover the communication means in said first position.
 7. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein the communication means is defined by a pair of co-axial and co-extensive apertures, each of which are respectively formed within the container means and the storage means.
 8. The arrangement as defined in claim 1 wherein a diffuser means is disposed within the storage means and adjacent the communication means so as to prevent unevaporated refrigerant means existing from the communication means.
 9. The arrangement as defined in claim 2, wherein an annular member defines the aperture in the storage means and cooperates with the elongated seal means to effectuate a sealing action.
 10. The arrangement as defined in claim 2 wherein projection means on the storage means and receiving means on the container means cooperatE with each other to join the storage and container means together.
 11. The arrangement as defined in claim 10 wherein an annular seal is disposed about the projection means on the storage means for preventing the intermingling of the refrigerant means with the material. 